A reconnection of Nature from Mountain to Sea
The development at Banshan Park Belt provides extensive landscape connectivity, introducing either new or revitalized ecological corridors between mountainous forests and the sea. These linkages enable large-scale natural systems and structures, such as ensuring that rainwater from mountain peaks flows directly into the sea and facilitating corridors of cool winds from the sea to inland areas. These interconnected natural systems and structures offer new ecological habitats and greatly enhance ecological value, thereby providing a better environment for people.
At the same time, this initiative responds to the traditional Chinese attitude towards nature, fostering a disposition of ease amidst mountains and seas. By traversing mountains and seas, nurturing urban environments, and gaining panoramic views, this area will become a significant cornerstone of life in Lingnan region. As the poet Wang Wei said, “In a quiet mountain, one may not see people, but only hear the sound of their voices.” With this project, we listen to the voice of nature in Yantian and create a path of resonance between mountains and seas.
Overall Structure: Blocks + Network + Nodes Overlaying on Top of Each Other
The strong sense of identity across the entire Banshan Park Belt is composed of functional blocks, pedestrian networks, and nodes. These key elements respond to the environmental variations within the park belt and intertwine with each other to closely align functionality, activities, and accessibility with local needs of human-nature interaction, while ensuring not to exceed the park’s capacity. Resonating with the mountains and seas through these three major elements enriches the experience with the rhythm, coherence, and resonance of the mountains and seas.
– 4 Rhythms of Mountains and Seas
The 4 rhythms gradually unfold between the mountains and seas.
The Urban Mountain Park serves as the transitional zone from the city to the mountainous area, offering residents a forefront experience of nature while still being able to sense the urban hustle and bustle. It caters to activities such as after-work strolls, family activities, and engaging in games integrated with the mountainous environment. It also serves as an outdoor extension area for educational purposes.
The Ecological Mountain Park acts as a destination for tourists, offering interactive paths spanning 1-4 hours to enrich the park experience. Outdoor sports, jungle exploration, and interaction with natural installations utilize natural elevation differences to create surprises, turning it into a true forest playground. Slightly more challenging sports facilities cater to children’s exploratory endeavors.
The Wild Mountain Park will be an adventure destination for mountaineering enthusiasts and a paradise for natural ecology.
The junctions where mountains and seas connect serve as shortcuts for urban access from the mountains to the sea, as well as wind channels for urban cooling. They also serve as green corridors where mountain streams gently flow into the sea, providing ecological passages for flora and fauna.
– A Mountain-to-Sea Network
Following the rhythms, the project establishes a framework for experiencing nature. As a crucial backbone of the Banshan Park Belt, the existing fire patrol routes are discontinuous and designed only for vehicular traffic, lacking consideration for human-scale experience. However, they are in good road conditions. Therefore, the focus is on enhancing the quality of pedestrian pathways, ensuring a width of 1.5 meters for pedestrian paths. Meanwhile, continuous patrol routes for vehicles are provided. with new vehicle patrol roads constructed, it ensures the widths of 3.5-5 meters for firefighting maintenance purposes. The original fire patrol roads within 2 meters are renovated through handcrafted pathways with sustainable materials, aiming to closely adhere to the original ecological environment. Additional pedestrian fire patrol roads are introduced, offering different types of wooden walkways based on mountain slopes, providing basic patrol functions, while considering the needs of different groups. The 1-hour walking routes, the 1-day leisure routes, and the 1-day wilderness routes are formulated for local visitors, sightseeing tourists, and nature enthusiasts.
The overlapping of the three layers of fire patrol roads forms the walking and touring system of the Banshan Park Belt. Scenic spots serve as elevated vantage points, nestled within the forest, away from the hustle and bustle, amplifying sensory experiences, with wooden structures seamlessly integrating into nature.
– 100 Ways of Mountain and Sea Resonance: 100 Different Structures in nat
The four rhythms, along with the mountain-to-sea network, greatly enrich the currently missing experience of mountain forests. Furthermore, we have designed 100 ways of mountain and sea resonance for different areas. Inspired by the five senses, including sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Observing animals, amplifying bird songs, touching nature, tasting fresh fruits, inhaling floral scents.
Meanwhile, the park provides unified designed public service facilities, such as toilets, signposts, water outlets, and seats, mainly made of wood and weather-resistant steel, integrated into various scenes as the basic support system.
As part of the 100 “echoes,” observation decks not only provide basic functions to rest and shelter, but also aim to interact more with nature by magnifying people’s perceptions of nature through small landscape architectures. Along the ridge of Pineapple Mountain, the “Path of Wind” connects the coastal promenade with the mountaintop. We have designed a series of wind-driven installations along this path, materializing the image of the wind, allowing visitors to occasionally discover the unique pleasures brought by the sea breeze.
Other landscape architecture offices involved in the design of landscape:
HOPE Design
Location: Yantian Banshan Park, Shenzhen, China
Design year: 2020
Year Completed: 2022